This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Vehicles, such as heavy duty mining trucks may have dual wheel systems including multiple wheels coupled to a common hub. Such trucks are utilized to haul bulk material, such as earth, coal, ore, etc. On a fully loaded truck, this payload may represent a very heavy load, that can reach over 400 tons on some trucks. Dual-wheel systems increase the surface area between the vehicle and the ground, which allows additional power to be utilized to propel the vehicle and distributes the weight of the vehicle and any payload over additional wheels.
In some scenarios, a dual wheel system may be refitted with new tires that require larger diameter rims than the original, smaller tires. For example, if the smaller diameter tires become harder to buy on the market and if the larger diameter tires are readily available, it may be desirable to refit the vehicle with larger diameter tires. By providing the ability to fit larger diameter tires, the vehicle is able to continue in productive service instead of sitting idle.
Typically, larger diameter tires are fitted to smaller diameter hubs with rims having a thick mounting flange portion extending from the tire to the hub, sometimes known as a “stilted rim”. The stilted rims may utilize a standard wheel clamp and spacer band between the rims. However, compared to a standard rim for use with a smaller diameter tire, a stilted rim results in an increased loading on the studs coupling the rims to the hub and an increased applied moment on the rim, which may be excessive depending on loading of the vehicle and its intended use.